BURMA'S VAST INTERNMENT CAMP: NORTHERN RAKHINE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 RANGOON 000235

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND PRM
PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREF PREL EAID BM
SUBJECT: BURMA'S VAST INTERNMENT CAMP: NORTHERN RAKHINE
STATE

REF: 226

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Classified By: CDA Shari Villarosa for Reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (SBU) Summary: In a country where everyone is oppressed
by the military, some are treated worse than others. In
general, the ethnic minorities are treated worse than the
ethnic Burman majority, and non-Buddhists face more
restrictions on their religious practices. Charge visited
Northern Rakhine State January 25-27 with a group of other
diplomats organized by UNHCR to learn why the international
community in Burma agrees that the Muslims living in Northern
Rakhine State are treated worst of all. Absent dramatic
political changes, UNHCR presence there may be required
indefinitely to ensure the basic survival of these people "of
concern" living in the most miserable of
circumstances--lacking freedom of movement, citizenship, and
land. The current regime does not recognize these people as
citizens, merely as residents. They are stateless. The
district military commander and the district peace and
development council have almost a blank check to control the
Muslims as they see fit. The primary tactic they use is
humiliation. We should provide humanitarian assistance in
coordination with other donors and assist a local Muslim
group addressing their educational needs. End Summary

GRIM CONDITIONS


2. (SBU) The Muslims of Northern Rakhine State (they call
themselves Rohingyas, which the regime rejects, instead
calling them Bengali-speaking Muslims) have been persecuted
for more than 40 years. We visited the two townships where
most of the Muslims are concentrated: Maungdaw (97% Muslim)
and Buthidaung (95% Muslim). The previous dictator, Ne Win,
tried to force them from their native Rakhine lands in the
1960s. An estimated one million left, according to the
Pakistani Ambassador, with many ending up in Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia, as well as neighboring Bangladesh. Many returned
home in the 1970s, but then faced persecution again in
1977-78 when 500,000 fled to Bangladesh (again most returned)
and the early 1990s when 350,000 left (and again most
returned). Today, according to UN estimates, 850,000 people
live in Northern Rakhine State (the three northernmost
townships of Rakhine State bordering Bangladesh); over 90%
are Muslim; over 50% are landless; and 80% are illiterate.
Northern Rakhine State is the most densely populated rural
area in Burma with 164 people/square kilometer compared to
the national average of 74. Infant mortality is four times
the national average (71 per 1000 births); 64% of children
under five are chronically malnourished and stunted growth is
common. Teachers are scarce as well with one for every 79
students vice the 1:40 national average.


3. (SBU) The combination of high population density and low
productivity results in an annual rice deficit. In addition,
rice prices are set higher than elsewhere in Burma to stem
smuggling to Bangladesh. The World Food Program, the Food
and Agriculture Organization and INGOs have tried to assist
with alternative crops suitable for dry season cultivation.
The landless depend on seasonal work, primarily rice
cultivation from June-December. 80% are illiterate with few
marketable skills. The scarcity of work and rice becomes
most pronounced from March-May. Government restrictions on
freedom of movement of people and goods hamper trade.


4. (SBU) Most of the last group of refugees returned a
decade ago, and now only a few of the estimated 20,000
refugees remaining in Bangladesh trickle back (210 returned
in 2004 and 92 returned in 2005). The remaining refugees

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retain the option of returning, but UNHCR does not encourage
them to return. UNHCR has shifted from providing
resettlement assistance to providing protection. It regards
all of the Muslims in these three townships as "of concern"
due to their miserable circumstances and lack of legal
status. One UNHCR rep working in Northern Rakhine State said
he did not mind the isolation or separation from his family,
but found the sense of hopelessness hardest to handle. UNHCR
representatives described the environment as one of their
most difficult anywhere because they have no agreement with
the authorities on basic standards and no laws.

NO FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT


5. (SBU) To guard this "vast internment camp" the military
has stationed 8000 soldiers and customs and immigration
officials at 108 locations manning 50 checkpoints. This
makes it difficult for the people to access health clinics,
schools and other programs set up by NGOs to provide basic
services and training. Permission to leave the townships is
even harder. A local professional with UNHCR said his
daughter won prizes for being the top student in her high
school, but was not allowed to travel outside the township to
sit for university exams. His son had faced the same
situation and chose to go to Bangladesh for a university
education; now his son does not plan to return. Muslims
interested in working with UNHCR must be willing to sacrifice
their freedom of movement. Even though they are not subject
to these restrictions in Rangoon where they have long lived
with their families, once they go to Northern Rakhine State
to work for UNHCR, they too lose their freedom of movement.
UNHCR will intervene to give these employees opportunities to
visit their families, but again it depends on the whims of
the local authorities.

LITTLE EDUCATION


6. (SBU) Based on the large numbers of children we saw out
of school, the majority of children do not attend public
schools. Madrassahs have been set up in many villages to
provide some education to boys; girls generally receive the
least education. We met with a group of women who had formed
a microlending program. When asked what they would do with
additional income earned, they said they would send another
child to school, with boys given precedence. The women
estimated annual school fees at the equivalent of $20.
Several of the women had one or two children in school, but
they also noted that they had a total of 5-7 children. The
one school we visited had 380 students in one extended
classroom and only two teachers. The day we visited, the
students were receiving their monthly allocation of 20 pounds
of rice from the World Food Program. World Food Program
estimates their school feeding program has achieved a 300
percent increase in school attendance, reaching 87,000
students. Many of the NGO-run health centers have day care
facilities attached to provide meals and some instruction to
pre-school aged children.

FORCED LABOR, FORCED RELOCATIONS, and FORCED CONTRIBUTIONS


7. (SBU) With half the population and 90 percent of the
returnees landless, the people become more vulnerable to
demands for forced labor and forced contributions. The
forced labor can vary from carrying loads for government
officials, standing sentry duty on the major paths around the
villages to report any outsiders without approvals, repairing
roads, and anything else an official feels entitled to demand
of the population. The UNHCR reports that the number of
forced labor complaints have declined since the peak in 2001,

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with 80 filed in 2005. UNHCR representatives said that they
would intervene even without a complaint where they note
"high levels" of forced labor. Rape is less common than in
other ethnic areas, according to UNHCR representatives.


8. (SBU) All land in Burma is owned by the state with a
system of land tenancy. The landless farm as sharecroppers,
with the shares depending on the goodwill of the individual
with land tenancy rights. In keeping with the divide and
rule tactics used throughout the country, the authorities
have coopted the elite by giving some land tenancy rights.
Nevertheless, both the landless and those with land tenancy
rights have no appeal should authorities arbitrarily revoke
their land rights. Usually they are forced from their
traditional land as the authorities move in ethnic Burmans
and ethnic Rakhines. In one case, the authorities populated
a model village with urban criminals released from prison.
The authorities provided the released criminals with large
homes with metal roofs and electricity along with substantial
farmland on the condition that they live in Northern Rakhine
State. The authorities then told the criminals that they
could make the Muslims work their lands.


9. (SBU) The Muslims in Rakhine face additional demands. For
instance, since there are relatively few Buddhists in the
region, the authorities force Muslims to build Buddhist
temples and monasteries, while denying them permission to
make repairs to their mosques. The Muslims of Northern
Rakhine do not face pressures to join the regime's mass
member organization, the United Solidarity and Development
Association, since they are not regarded as citizens.
However, they still must contribute plastic chairs, or the
cash equivalent, to USDA for their rallies.

DAILY HUMILIATION


10. (SBU) The Muslims must request permission to travel from
one village to another, to marry, to improve their homes, and
to do anything else the authorities can think of. These
permits usually also require payment of a fee. Women must
register their pregnancies. The procedures change frequently
and largely depend on the whim of the approving authority
keeping the Muslims confused and becoming a costly burden.
UNHCR will intervene when the demands become too egregious.
For instance, to reduce birth rates, the authorities in 2005
decided to stop granting approval for marriages until UNHCR
intervened. Then some local authorities imposed a new rule
that they would approve marriages, but the prospective groom
would have to submit a photo with no beard, contrary to his
religious practices, with his application.


11. (SBU) While we saw new Buddhist temples and monasteries
throughout the area (mostly built with forced labor),the
majority of the mosques were crumbling. One mosque had
salvaged metal siding randomly tacked up for walls.
Crumbling thatched roofs covering the mosques were common. A
mosque in the center of Maungdaw town had been converted to a
fire station by the authorities. The authorities usually
deny permission to repair mosques, but occasionally one might
be permitted. After the repairs are made, according to UNHCR
reps, just to humiliate the people and show who's in charge,
the authorities sometimes claim that the work went beyond the
permit and order it all dismantled.

INTERNATIONAL REACTION


12. (U) This trip also provided an overview of the
international programs to assist the people of Northern
Rakhine State. The UNHCR has the lead among the UN agencies

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here and works through international NGOs (INGOs) to provide
Burmese language training to women to decrease their
marginalization and to children so that they can enroll in
school, health care, skills development for the most
vulnerable populations, income generation and financial
self-help for the most vulnerable. The INGOs operating in
Northern Rakhine State include: Action Contre la Faim
(nutrition program),Aide Medicale Internacionale (primary
health care in Buthidaung township, but running into problems
with local authorities because their clinics are more popular
than public health clinics),Bridge Asia Japan (basic rural
infrastructure),CARE Australia (agro-forestry, including
securing land rights to sloping land),Community and Family
Services International (community services and language
training),Groupe de Recherche et d'Echanges Technologiques
(agricultural production),Malteser (primary health care in
Maungdaw Township with good working relations with local
authorities; training community health workers),Medecins
Sans Frontieres-Holland (malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS preventions).
The major donors are the European Commission/European Union,
Japan, Australia, Germany, UAE, and Norway.


13. (C) More dispiriting has been the reaction of others from
whom we expected more sympathy:

Bangladesh: The Ambassador participated in this visit.
Although he acknowledged the terrible conditions, he found
conditions in some ways better than in Bangladesh. "In
Bangladesh people have a state, but no land; here they have
no state, but land to farm." He made clear his primary
concern is that the Northern Rakhine Muslims do not return to
Bangladesh.

Pakistan: The Ambassador participated in this visit. He
provided historical background on how Pakistan had tried to
help in the past, but did not offer to do anything more than
wring his hands now. He whispered that the U.S. must speak
out about this, and could not respond when asked why Pakistan
did not speak out. He subsequently thanked Charge for asking
the District Officer, a Lt. Col and the most senior official
we met, about lifting restrictions on freedom of movement.

Singapore: The Ambassador participated in this visit and
coined the best description: a vast internment camp. When
asked why other Muslim nations did not speak out, he said
they all have problems with minorities, who claim some
separateness, citing the example of the Kurds. If these
nations highlighted the plight of the Rohingyas, then they
would, at a minimum, look hypocritical, for not addressing
the demands of minority groups in their own countries.

India: The Ambassador and DCM both agreed that the situation
was inhumane, but they professed greater concern that the
Rohingyas would become terrorists, saying we should focus our
attention there, rather than trying to improve their plight.

Saudi Arabia: They have just opened an Embassy in Rangoon.
The Saudi Charge made clear that the primary goal of this
Embassy is to repatriate 120,000 Rohingyas living without
documents in Saudi Arabia for many years. They had entered
Saudi Arabia on Pakistan and Bangladesh passports, but those
countries refused to renew them. Charge asked if he realized
that sending them back would effectively mean sending them to
prison. He acknowledged that the timing might not be right,
but that the situation in Burma might improve in the future.
When asked about the relatively small number of Rohingyas in
comparison with other overseas workers in Saudi Arabia (he
rattled off: 1 million each from Egypt and Pakistan, 900,000
from Indonesia, 400,000 from the Philippines),he replied

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that the others all had passports.

Burmese political activists in exile whom Charge met February
13: After proudly describing their efforts to develop a
constitution in consultation with representatives of various
ethnic groups, Charge asked about the provisions they had
made for the Muslims of Northern Rakhine State. The first
response: they are not citizens. They disputed Charge's
assertion that these people had been living in that area for
hundreds of years. Finally they admitted to an agreement
with the Arakans (a Buddhist ethnic group inhabiting the rest
of Rakhine State),that the Muslims would not have the right
to a separate state, but that they would be accorded
individual rights.

COMMENT


14. (SBU) The Rohingyas are a small group of oppressed people
in a country full of many oppressed people. The others have
received more attention because their plight has made it to
the international press. The military has effectively sealed
the Rohingyas off from the world and keeps them at the bare
subsistence level-it is an internment camp. The
international community, with the UNHCR in the lead, has
responded to enable these people to survive-just. If
international donors disappeared, the fate of these people
would be far worse. Their only hope for better lives is a
government willing to accord them basic rights of citizenship
and freedom. The current government essentially acts as
prison guards. We should not assume that any future
democratic government will accord these people their basic
human rights, but should insist on it. In the meantime, we
should join other donors in providing humanitarian assistance
to the Rohingyas and send the message to the military that we
will not permit their elimination. We also recommend support
for efforts by the Islamic Center in Rangoon to start an
English language program in Northern Rakhine State (reftel).


VILLAROSA